Walukuba Barbarians have history beckoning!

The seventh and final stop of the Nile Special 7s rugby championship heads to Kyaddondo rugby grounds this weekend for the Buffaloes 7s series.

It will run between September 27 and 28. Being that it is the ultimate round of the 2025 Sevens rugby season, there is heightened anticipation on which teams, both men and women, will carry the day.

However, there is expected to be more interest in the men’s title chase, being that the Walukuba Barbarians, a team that has never won a top-flight title, is in the lead with 116 points.

The Toyota Buffaloes are second on 107 points, while the Heathens, who are the defending champions, are a distant third on 95 points. The 2023 sevens champions, the Black Pirates, are fourth on 90 points. The women’s championship is surely sown up by the Thunderbirds on 118 points.

The chasing defending champions, the Avengers, are on 102 points, and the maximum they can accumulate as things stand is 124 points. Only if the Thunderbirds do not show up this weekend can they fail to get the seven points they need. So, what do Walukuba, the team from Jinja, need to hold off the chasing pack?

Walukuba had a blistering start to the championship when they beat the Heathens in the Kabaka Coronation Sevens at Kyadondo Rugby Club. This was followed by another appearance in the final at the second stop, which was in Gulu. Although they lost that one, Walukuba have gone on to showcase admirable consistency by always making it to the last four.

In fact, in the five rounds of the Sevens championship that have been played so far, Walukuba have made four finals, at least, winning two of them, the last one being the Kyabazinga Sevens in Bugembe, three weeks ago.

This has enabled coach Leonard Lubambula’s side to keep accumulating vital points compared to the other teams. For example, Heathens have made three finals, but only won one.

But at the same time, Heathens did not make it to the quarterfinals in Gulu, while in the Rujumba Sevens at King’s Park, they were bundled out in the quarters by Pirates.

Similarly, Pirates have only made one final in the six rounds played, while Kobs have at best been to a semifinal. So, as it stands, Walukuba’s biggest threat remains the Buffaloes.

The only way the Heathens can win, since they still have an outside chance, is if both Walukuba and Buffaloes do not show up entirely for this weekend’s action, and therefore, register no points at all.

Buffaloes only need to finish sixth in this weekend’s stop to maintain a lead over the Heathens. But for many rugby fans, including the Heathens ones, they know that would be stretching it too far. Just in the Kabale 7s last weekend, they lost to the Buffaloes 5-10 in the semifinals.

It is unlikely that such an opponent as the Buffaloes could fail to make the quarterfinals at least. In addition, the fact that the Buffaloes actually won the Kabale 7s with a 14-12 triumph over Walukuba last weekend, their second win in six rounds, is proof of how formidable they are.

Nonetheless, Walukuba remains in the driving seat considering their 12-point lead over Buffaloes. The winner of each stop/circuit takes a whole 22 points. Consequently, Walukuba, in the worst case scenario, need to finish fourth and add 15 tournament points to their tally in order to maintain an unassailable lead over the Buffaloes.

In the event that the Buffaloes win the circuit this weekend, they can only amass a total of 129 points. This weekend, Walukuba will be aiming at only qualifying for the semifinals, while for the Buffaloes to stand a winning chance, that cannot happen.

Depending on the way the groups are picked, Buffaloes will want to meet Walukuba in the quarters and possibly knock them out at that stage. Otherwise, for the people of Masese, and the surrounding areas of Jinja, they are just waiting to pop the champagne, following what has been a successful run in the 7s championship 2025 for the Walukuba Barbarians.